Zdrasti!
Right now I am writing a 2 or 3 (I haven’t decided yet) part blog series about what the Lord has been teaching me and the ministry opportunities He has opened up. I have really grown to love Bulgaria and I hope that through this series I can illustrate what The Lord is doing here in us and through us.
Being here in Dobromirka has almost felt as if we haven’t left the states–almost. There are plenty of differences, don’t get me wrong–but here we are living in a large house with internet access pretty much any time we want, and LOTS of free time. Our ministry has mostly been housekeeping jobs such as doing laundry, making beds, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, mopping cleaning windows, cleaning the kitchen, and doing food prep and clean-up when large groups are here for seminars or summer camps. This work that we had to do, with seven girls all giving a helping hand, took only about 3 days to complete. However, we have had 1 1/2 weeks in between the groups that are staying here.
With all of this free time, truthfully, we found ourselves discouraged, questioning why the Lord has us here in sleepy little Dobromirka (which we found out is not as sleepy as we thought it was! But thats another story). We found ourselves sleeping in and getting on Facebook too much..well, at least I was. It wasnt the best feeling…
But I felt some tugs on my heartstrings. There MUST be MORE–more to do here…
And I felt the call to get up early, 6am, every morning and spend time with The Lord, to listen to His voice and let Him teach me. And BOY has He been teaching me. I feel as though I have 5 blog posts worth of stuff already!
Through reading Heidi Baker’s book “Birthing the Miraculous: The Power of Personal Encounters With God To Change Your Life And The World” and through worship and scripture, The Lord has been teaching my when the rest, when to run, and when to release. This month has been ALL about rest, maybe too much rest for a busy-bee like me. But The Lord has been transforming my lazy rest into productive rest–into learning to dive deeper into the secret place with Him and dwelling in His presence.
What’s more, I’m learning that when I spend time in that secret place, my passion and hunger for Jesus only increases. I look forward to my early morning black coffee (you heard me! I’ve gone to the dark side) and my time with Jesus.
“Its only when we abide in His presence that the most precious treasure can be born. Much better than work! More is accomplished by spending time in God’s presence than by doing anything else! There are no shortcuts to the anointing. If we want to fully walk out the callings The Lord places on our lives, we must spend time with Him, cultivating intimacy in the secret place”
I know that God longs to increase our appetite for Himself. If we eat and drink of His presence, then He will bring us into a relationship that transforms us. If we eat and drink of Jesus so deeply everyday, then we no longer have to grow weary and exhausted as we run our race. I believe that our race can become our rest. I love what Heidi said in her book–I will not run without the wooing.
I’m also learning that I cannot step out and transform a place for the Kingdom, unless I carry what He calls me to carry, and do what He calls me to do.
It all starts in the secret place and with the wooing. Then when we live in the presence, nations begin to change, one person at a time. He calls us to live in His presence and, as Heidi Baker always says, “stop for the one He puts in front of us each day”.
Its in His presence that God has been breaking my heart and opening my eyes to see what He is doing all around me. That is why I CANNOT go anywhere without Him being present in my life
“The Lord replied, ‘My presence will go with you and I will give you rest’. Then Moses said to Him, if Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?'” // Exodus 33:14-16
…
So The Lord has been teaching Team Apotolmao a couple things and our entire outlook on being here in Dobromirka has been changing. We have been searching out ministries–be it picking up trash around the town or building relationships with people–looking for what doors the Lord is opening and what He wants us to do.
// REST //
// RUN //
// RELEASE //
Stay tuned for my next blog about the amazing ministry that The Lord has placed in front of us!!
